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Foreign universities offering degrees in Kenya without accreditation will be fined at least Sh10 million and their promoters sent to jail for three years under a new law meant to safeguard education standards. The Commission on University Education (CUE) will replace the Commission of Higher Education in overseeing university standards.

The Department of Higher Education has warned students to be wary of "registered" private colleges which offer certificates, diplomas and degrees but do not have its stamp of approval. A department spokesman expressed concern about the current trend whereby institutions secured registration for one or two programmes, and then used this status as a cover to offer other unregistered courses.

Turkey has suspended its recognition of Bulgarian university diplomas. The Turkish University Education Council made this decision on the grounds of high levels of academic forgery, fraud and exam cheating in Bulgaria. Bulgaria's Education Minister has admonished the Bulgarian media for provoking an international scandal, claiming that the problematic diplomas were forged by Turkish citizens.

Independent investigations into journalism diplomas awarded at Windesheim University have found that one in four students should not actually have been awarded one. In what is seen as one of the biggest failures of quality assurance in Netherlands higher education, two independent committees that looked into the work of all students who graduated in the past two years concluded that 86 out of 360 students should not have received a diploma.

Iona College acknowledged Tuesday that its former provost had, for nearly a decade, manipulated and misreported student-related data to government officials, accrediting bodies, bond rating agencies, and others.

Up to 80 state and private universities may be involved in selling teacher certificates or offering courses without accreditation, according to authorities. The Office of the Higher Education Commission (Ohec), which is investigating a university in Khon Kaen province found to have sold professional teacher certificates to graduates, said it would widen its probe to 77 other providers which had produced an unusually high number of teaching graduates.

The Italian cabinet has ordered the roll-out of a national accreditation scheme for academics to stamp out nepotism. Under the new scheme, commissions of five senior academics appointed in each university will accredit applicants for associate or full professorships on the basis of the quality and quantity of their academic output.

CAMES, the 18-member African and Madagascan Council for Higher Education, has launched a database of recognised qualifications in francophone Africa. With a couple of clicks to locate a country and institution, the database gives information about diplomas, their relevant department or faculty, any available options, and how many years of higher education they require.